Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-07-14

cisted Press:
Ely DEAR SIR:-Oa the 2nd of July
| instant a special dispatch was sent from
St. Joseph, No, 10 Chicago paper in
which It was stated that "the closing of
saloons in Atchison, Kansas, has cut off
the most profitable source Of revenue,
amounting to thousands Of dollars
year, and IS 2 result the city has not
enough revenue to keep going, thai tie
police force with the exception CT the
marshal aud one policeman had been
suspended, that the services Of the FIRE
men were 10 be dispensed with aud that
gas and electric lights were 10
be smut Of ); Jhis dispatch
was utilized BIZ the Associated
Press, and thus published in au parts OF
ne country. As a result I have received
letters from different sections making in
quiry as TO the truth Of The statements it
embodied, and I have seen its alleged
facts commented on in dozens CT news
papers as evidence that abolition of sa-
looms has reduced the prosperous in Kan
sas to the verge Of bankruptcy. Similar
letters have been received Dv the Mayor
Cf AtChison AID bY many other cities il
Kansas. The dispatch referred TO was
prompted by TWO motives. II wa5 first
sent from town in Missouri
for the purpose OF iniuTing q RI
val city in Kansas, ard second,
it wGs inspired by the whisky interest ana
intended to create the Impression than sn
efficient city government could not be
maintained Without the revenue derived
from saloon licenses. The city Of AtCh-
ison has been for many years one Of the
most important railroad and commercial
centers Of Kansas. It has Z population Of
about - O0G people. # the whisky inter
est could create the impression that Atch-
ison had been injured because saloons
had been driven out OF it 8 serious blow
woald be dealt the temperance
cause. The Associated Press
in giving This false report
such wide publicity, was made the uncOn-
sCiOus agent OF 9 malicious slandereT
whose purposes were Gs unworthy Is his
statements were uufoundsd. l deem it
my duty to correct the false Impressions
thus created ana respectfully ask this let
ter De given IS wide publication as the dis
patch which prompted it. lam thoroughly
familiar with the condition OF the city OF
AtChisOu, and personally known that the
statements embodied in 5the ST. Joseph
dispatch are false ana misleading. The
gas, electric lights and water supply Of
the city nave never been turned
of, its fire department has been and is
continually en- duty. It's police force has
been largely reduced, but in the absence
of saloons has been ample to preserve the
peace ami protect the property Of it's Citi-
Zens. \ local dispute concerning the
method CT taxation and involving the
sdCptiOn Of tsX which had been collected
in the city o. S.. joseph for many years
past, IS the only foundation for the
malicious and untrUthful dispatch from
that place. AtChisOn abolished the last of
It's saloons il the fall IF 1856. The
whisky interest pTOphesied this action
would seriously iDjure the business OF
the city. 1t mas had no such effect.
AtChisou is more prosperous than it has
been for many years. It's wholesale trade
aggregated over SO, 100000 in 1856, and
during the first six months of 1887 this
trade was increased fully So per cent over
that for the corresponding Six months OF
1856. All Of the principal streets of the
city are paved, More substantial i'm
prOvGmeuts are being made and more
dwellings are being erected in AtchisOn
this year than during any previous year
in its history. Ten important lines of
railway certer il this city, and the
Southern Kansas Railway has Just
extended lis line to AtChisOn,
The central shops OF the Missouri Pacific
road have recently been located there.
The largest lumber yard in the west has
been established, and many other COM
merclal and manufacturing industries
hsve been located there during the past
SIX months. Better than all too, hun
dreds OF thousands of dollars that We're
formerly wasted in saloons, are now eX-
pended in feeding and clothing and hCuz-
ing the people, and IS 8 result thousands
OF wives and children VINO were living in
AtchisOn in poverty few years
ago, are now in prosperity and con
te1tment. This St. Joseph dispatch
IS only q fair specimen Of hundreds of
false ard malicious statements I have
seen published in the newspapers OF the
country during the pas. three or four
years concerning Kansas and Kansas
towns. The whisky interest predicted
that the abolition of saloons N Kansas
would IDiuriOusly affect the material
prosperity of the state, end ialsehOOds in
tended to confirm this view are constant
II invented and circulated IN every sec
ton of the country, and especially in
ing made to Danish saloons. II
an receiving letters daily from diff
ferent states making inquiries concerning
the effects and results of our laws on the
dnsGCisl and commercial and other ms
teTiSl interests of our state, and these
letters al indicate that the work Of
maligning Kansas is going on in every
section of the country. Permit me, there
fore, TO give you the real facts. The pro-
hi5itiOn amendment 10 our constitution
was adopted in the autumn in 1850, and
the first Laws 70 enforce it went into ef-
feet Msy, 1881. The war TO Danish saloons
was for some years only practically sue
cessful. The amendment had been
adopted By very meeger MS
jority, aud public sentiment in
our larger cities was overwhelming
against it. As late as January, 1855, So
looms were open in fully thirty large cities
in Kansas, including Topeka.the capital of
the state. But steadily and surely public
sentiment egai:st them spread and lnten-
sined. The small majority that had voted
for the amendment was reinforced first
by the lsw-respecting citizens who are
alwsys willing to subordinate their per
sonal opinions TO the msjesty Of law, and
second by an equally large number who
observing the practical results fol-
IOuinu tho abolition Of cu1Oono